Wire forming machine



Dec. 1, 1936. w. c. BURGESS ET AL.

WIRE FORMING MACHINE Filed March 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 1 1936. w. c. BURGESS ET AL. 2,062,552

' WIRE FORMING MACHINE I Filed March 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIRE FORMING MACHINE of Delaware Application March 8, 1935, Serial No. 9,936

3 Claims.

The present invention pertains to novel and better means for forming wire, or its equivalent, into helical or spiral shape, the completed product being desirably, but not necessarily, more or less elastic and resilient, as occasion requires and depending, of course, upon the physical characteristics of the stock employed.

An aim of the invention is to provide an appliance of this type which is simple in structure, economical to make, eflicient in operation, and the product of which is especially satisfactory for use because of the uniformity of its structure and form.

A further object of the invention is to supply a wire-forming machine of this nature in which improved cooling means are employed, whereby the operator may readily handle the finished coiled wire as it leaves the machine and feed it into place, as for fastening together the spiralsprings of a cushion, without burning his hands and without necessarily requiring protective gloves to be worn.

An added purpose of the invention is to so construct the machine that the means which determines the pitch of the helical product may be easily adjusted while the machine is in operation.

When a helical wire .or spring, such as is produced by this new machine, is fed directly from the latter, and while revolving about its own axis, to coil around and thus tie together the terminal rings or convolutions of adjacent spiralsprings of a cushion, it is important that the pitch of such uniting helical wire be accurate so that the desired precise number of turns of the wire may encircle the wire of the end-rings of the springs, whereby such end-rings are securely fastened together without possibility of any substantial lengthwise movement of the helical wire with relation to such rings, hence assuring absence of undesirable noise by reason of the parts rubbing on one another due to looseness of their association with one another.

To enable those acquainted with this art to understand the invention fully, both from structural and functional standpoints, and the manner in which the above-stated and other objects and. aims are attained, in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification and to which reference should be had in connection with the following detailed description, a present preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, and, for simplicity, like reference numerals have been used throughout the sev eral views to designate the same parts,

In these drawings:-

Figure l is an elevation of the new machine;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section through a portion only of the machine showing the means for feeding the wire and the means for coiling it helically;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section illustrating the means for adjusting the helix which determines the final pitch of the product; and

Figure 5 is a more or less diagrammatical view showing in association with the mechanism illustrated in the other figures a substantially U- shaped tube through which the helical wire passes and by means of. which it is cooled and prevented from kinking, coiling, or buckling.

Referring to these drawings, it will be observed that the new machine includes a table or support ill on which a rotary drive-shaft II is revolubly mounted in any approved manner, the

shaft being revolved by a belt-pulley l2, .or any A other suitable means, such shaft being equipped with a worm I3 meshing with and actuating a worm-wheel It on a shaft l5, fitted with a spurgear I 6 cooperating with and driving a like spurgear ll on an upper, suitably-mounted, rotary shaft l8.

These two shafts I5 and I8 rotate in bearingblocks mounted in association with standards or guides 23, 24, the lower shaft l5 having a circumferentially-grooved feed-roller l9 keyed thereto, whereas the companion shaft I8 is similarly fitted with a like upper feed-roller 2|, these two rollers having a plurality of peripheral grooves 22, 22 in register with one another and adapted to accommodate the wire being fed between them.

As one set or pair of grooves becomes worn in service, another group may be employed, the wire-coiling mechanism being designed for adjustment in order to bring it into proper registration with the grooves then in use.

From what precedes it will be seen that the drive-pulley l2, through the worm and wormwheel and the two spur-gears, revolves the feedrollers in opposite directions to advance the wire between them, all of which will be readily understood, and this portion of the mechanism is only incidentally a part of the present invention.

A bar or plate 25 slotted at its opposite ends at 28, 28 is transversely adjustably mounted on the standards or uprights 23, 24 by means of machine-screws 26, 26 occupying the slots or apertures 28, and fitted with associated washers 21, 21.

A block 29 by means of screws 3|, 3| is mounted on the inner side of the supporting-member 25 and it is centrally cylindrically apertured at 32 to receive a bushing 33 held in place in the member 29 by a suitable set-screw 34, such bushing 33 extending out of its support 29 toward the feed-rollers l9 and 2| between which it is tapered at 35, 35 to avoid contact therewith.

The parts 25 and 29 unitedly carry a ball-bearing 36 which rotatably supports another shouldered bushing or sleeve 31 in it, a portion of such bushing being received in the central opening of the part 29.

The stationary bushing 33 and the aligned revoluble bushing 31 are centrally cylindrically apertured in register to receive a stationary, grooved form 38 held in place in the fixed bushing 33 by a set-screw 39 or other means.

This form at one end projects out of the bushing 33 toward the feed-rollers, and in order to be out of contact with the latter, the protruding part of the form is tapered, as is clearly indicated in Figure 3.

Extending inwardly from such protruding end of the form and open at such end is a straight groove 4| in the outer surface of the form, this groove near the other end of the form being of spiral shape at 42, so that a wire I00 fed into the groove 4| by the cooperating feed-rollers I9 and 2| will be compelled to pass through the helical portion 42 of the groove and will issue from the form with a corresponding helical shape, the wire in so traveling contacting with and rotating the bushing 31, the turning of which materially reduces the friction and prevents the wire from becoming unduly hot.

Form 38 has a cylindrical extension or projection 43 of reduced diameter along and over which the helically-coiled Wire travels as it leaves the form groove, and the outer portion of this part 43 extends into a helix 5| demountably or detachably held in a cylindrical aperture 49 in a supporting-bar 44 by a set-screw 52, the member 44 as shown more clearly in Figure 4 being adjustably supported on the bar 25 by means of two screws 45, 45 engaging threaded holes in the member 25 and having ends slotted at 41, 41 by means of which they may be turned to obtain the desired adjustment position of the helix.

Element 44 has apertures accommodating the screws 45, 45 and it is held firmly on the latter by engaging shoulders 46, 45 at one side against which it is maintained by nuts 48, 48 in contact with its other or opposite surface.

The helical wire upon leaving the grooved form 38 advances along the extension 43 and travels through the spiral groove of the helix 5| and then it passes downwardly and again upwardly through a tubular member 53 of suitable shape and size, being delivered from an open end of the latter where it may be engaged by the hand of the operator and fed into position for uniting the spiral-springs of a cushion.

The helical groove 42 is slightly larger than the wire which passes through it in order to care for irregularities in the size of the wire incident to its production.

The rotation of bushing or sleeve 31 against which the wire presses during its helical formation reduces the friction and maintains thetemperature of the wire within suitable limits while being formed.

Extension 43 along which the helically formed wire is fed by the incoming portion from the supply assures proper register of the parts 38 and 5|.

Due to the fact that the groove 42 is slightly larger than the wire which is forced through it, or possibly by reason of small irregularities in the wire, the helical shape of the wire produced thereby is not necessarily so exact and precise as to meet the rigid required conditions, and the supplemental or auxiliary helix 5| is employed to give the helically-shaped wire its final desired pitch.

If this helix is so adjusted axially toward or from the form that the helical wire will engage the surface of its spiral groove toward the form 38 then the helical wire will be stretched out the required amount to produce the needed pitch; but, if the pitch produced by the form 38 is too great or too steep then the helix, by manipulation of the screws 45, 45 is adjusted so that the helical wire will contact with the surface of the spiral groove of the helix away from the form 38, and this action will squeeze the previously-formed convolutions together slightly so as to reduce the pitch to make it meet the required demands.

One of the outstanding features of this invention resides in the fact that the position of the helix 5| may be adjusted by turning the screws 45, 45 while the machine is in operation.

, Upon leaving the helix 5| the helical or spiral wire now in its proper form of precise pitch passes through the U-shaped tubular, metal, heat-conductive member 53 which performs a double function, the first beingthat, since the wire contacts with the member 53, it is sufficient- 1y cooled thereby so that it may be handled by the operator as it issues therefrom without the need of gloves.

Occasionally, when this helical wire does not properly cooperate with and unite the end-coils of the spiral-springs of a cushion referred to which it is designed to fasten together, it is necessary for the operator to reverse the action of this machine temporarily and then to feed the wire forward again as soon as conditions have been corrected.

During this back-feeding of the wire the U- shaped tube 53 prevents the wire from kinking or buckling which would be detrimental when the Wire was fed forward again, and this represents the second beneficial function of the part 53.

There are, therefore, three prominent features of this inventionthe reduction in heat produced by the employment of the revolving bushing around the form, the adjustment of the helix while the machine is in operation, and the employment of the tubular member which cools the wire and prevents it from becoming objectionably displaced or distorted under certain conditions.

In addition to these properties of the machine, the product formed is' unusually unvaried and exact, especially with respect to the uniformity of its spiral turns or convolutions.

It is to be understood that the pitch of the spiral passage of the helix may be substantially the same as that of the form groove, or different, depending upon circumstances.

Of course, if there is a material difierence between the two pitches more of the forming work on the wire is effected by the helix, and in some instances this may be a desirable condition of dividing the Work between the two members, the form and the helix.

Those acquainted with this art will understand that various changes may be made in the structure shown and described without departure from the principles of the invention defined by the appended claims and without the loss or sacrifice of any of the material benefits or advantages accruing from the employment of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a wire-forming machine, the combination of a support, means on said support to form a wire into helical shape, a bar apertured in register with the axis of the helically formed wire, a forming-helix mounted in said aperture, feedingmeans to force the wire stock through said wireforming means and said forming-helix, and screw-threaded means parallel to the axis of said helix mounting said bar on said support, whereby turning of said screw-threaded means adjusts said helix toward and from said wire-forming means during the operation of the machine.

2. In a wire-forming machine, the combination of means to form a wire into helical shape, a heat-conductive, wire-guiding, wire-cooling tube with an internal bore approximately of the same diameter as that of the helically shaped Wire and through which tube the wire after being helically formed passes and with the interior surface of which tube the helical wire contacts, and means to feed the Wire stock through said forming-means and said cooling and guiding tube.

3. The structure presented in claim 2 in which said tube is of substantially U-shape.

WARREN C. BURGESS. NICHOLAS CONTINO. 

